"Death of the Race Equality Movement": Community Conference 2016

Guest Post. UNISON delegate Anjona Roy spoke in favour of this important motion at the UNISON Community conference last month.

"I've worked for Northamptonshire Rights and Equality Council for the last twelve years. The motion talks about the reduction of Race Equality organisations from 200 to 40.

This analysis is a project our organisation did. We did a web analysis and phoned round organisations to see who was left alive.

The casualties include Race Equality West Midlands, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire REC and this has left race equality deserts in Cumbria and the North East. 

This is at a time when these services are needed more than ever. It's not only in Ferguson and New York that Black folk die in the hands of the criminal Justice system. Just a couple of weeks ago, Sarah Reed,died in Holloway Prison. Another on the steady stream of deaths in custody.

Comrades. We need to be active in screaming that #BlackLivesMatter.

The current focus on organising in big employers doesn't touch the need to support the Black community and voluntary sector which need the support of the trade union movement.

We as UNISON need to be part of ensuring that there is a race equality challenge everywhere it needs to be and boy is it needed".